Judge Removes Super From Sunset Park Building

Court cases stemming from violence in the Sunset Park rent strike are moving forward. A Brooklyn judge ordered building superintendent Israel Espinoza to vacate the embattled Sunset Park building where he lives and works by 4 pm yesterday, issued two orders of protection, and upgraded assault charges against him, according to a press release from the Sunset Park rent strike. The super allegedly assaulted 65-year-old rent striker Francisca Ixtilico last month, sending her to the hospital for several days with cerebral bleeding. Meanwhile, the court has postponed hearings in the case against Occupy Sunset Park activist Dennis Flores to Sept. 12 because of lost paperwork. Last month, police arrested and charged both Flores and Espinoza with third-degree assault and a misdemeanor for fighting each other, according to the document. Yesterday, the rent strikers and two reverends from nearby Trinity Lutheran Church called for the court to charge Espinoza with felony second-degree assault. Building tenants at 553, 545, and 557 46th Street began a rent strike on July 5 to protest ongoing problems with hazardous wiring, vermin and garbage, and say they fear unsafe wiring will cause an electrical fire. The building has many violations and is in foreclosure. Tenants have asked Felix Ortiz, a New York State assemblyman representing Sunset Park, to take action. If repairs are not made immediately, tenants said, they plan to make emergency repairs themselves.Occupy Sunset Park Press Release [Facebook]Judge Bounces Super out of Building After Brawl With Tenant [NY Daily News]Tenant Punched, Arrests in Sunset Park Rent Strike [Brownstoner]Sunset Park Rent Strike This Thursday [Brownstoner]Photo by bogieharmond